The Penguin is one of the most protean villains in the Batman rogues gallery, with interpretations of the character varying radically from one creative team to the next. In an interview with Popverse, writer Tom King discussed returning to the mainstream DC Universe with his new Penguin series, offering some insights into the more grounded crime drama he hopes to tell using the character.
Speaking with Popverse’s Ashley V. Robinson, King talked about what it is like writing “the worst person in the DC Universe,” a character who he describes as lacking empathy, as “the antihero of antiheroes,” comparing the Penguin to Breaking Bad’s Walter White at his lowest, a character whose utmost concern is profit, regardless of all morality.
Tom King’s Penguin Is On A Mission To Reclaim His Place In Gotham
Tom King explained that his previous experiences writing Batman involved telling stories about Gotham City the way most writers do: from the top-down perspective of superheroes and supervillains. King stated that he wanted to write “street-level, ‘Batman: Year One’ Batman” and that with his new Penguin series, he’s able to do exactly that, telling a “very Sopranos, Goodfellas-kind-of crime series, that’s very sort of grounded and gritty.” He compared the series to his recent Riddler take, as well his Joker arc in Batman: The Brave and the Bold. The series will feature Penguin returning to Gotham to retake control of his criminal enterprise.
“Revenge Is For The Birds” Tom King’s “Grounded And Gritty” Gotham Underworld
Tom King’s Penguin will see the villain squaring off against not only Catwoman, but also his own children, as he works to win back supremacy over Gotham’s underworld – and as the writer notes, as often as the city’s Dark Knight has faced far more powerful foes, defeating cosmic and interdimensional threats, what Batman truly cares about is fighting crime in Gotham City, and “he’s never been able to defeat Penguin; Penguin has always been able to operate there.” While King’s Penguin may not immediately confront the Caped Crusader, should he win back his status among the criminals of Gotham, it will put the two characters on track for a head-to-head collision.
Comparing his iteration of the Penguin to the most iconic antiheroes of the past two decades – such as Walter White, the protagonist of Breaking Bad who spiraled from seemingly well-intentioned into high-handed villainy, and Tony Soprano, who while charming, was always despicable – sets an incredibly high bar for Tom King’s upcoming Penguin series. If he succeeds, however, King will possibly have brought to life the defining version of the perennial Batman adversary. While often undervalued as one of the most dangerous Batman villains, this new series gives the Penguin the chance to prove he belongs in the pantheon of beloved anti-heroes.
Penguin #1 is available now from DC Comics.
